title: The frequency of HHV-8 infection in otherwise healthy blood donors as well as renal allograft recipients living in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Different reports from Middle East countries demonstrated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in transplant population. This vascular malignancy occurs mostly among immunocompromised individuals. Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) appears to be the causative factor for the development of this neoplasm. Transplant programs are concerned about the frequencies of HHV-8 infection either in general population or transplant patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current study was conducted in two phases. Firstly, we detected antibodies against HHV-8 in 790 otherwise healthy blood donors. Secondly, a total of 125 kidney allograft recipients evaluated as being seropositive for HHV-8. We utilized enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for serologic studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among blood donors, the male to female ratio was 1.05 (405 vs. 385 ) while the mean age was 38.9 ± 11.7 years. The serostatus of none of these blood donors were positive for HHV-8. Among kidney recipients, the male to female ratio was 1.9 (82 vs. 43). The mean age was 39.01 ± 14.77 years. Two (1.6%) patients were seropositive for HHV-8.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of HHV-8 infection among Iranians is likely to be low. Yet, owing to the evidence of this infection among kidney allograft recipients and its probable role in developing post- transplantation KS (PT-KS), further studies appear to be required to keep the various aspects of this infection under close surveillance.
authors.affiliation: London Health Sciences Centre, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. seyed.hosseini@lhsc.on.ca
authors.forename: Seyed Mohammadmehdi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hosseini-Moghaddam
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Keyvani
authors.forename: Ata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soleimanirahbar
authors.forename: Gharib
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daneshvar
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basiri
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Razzaghi
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nafar
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pour-Reza-Gholi
authors.forename: Soudabeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farhangi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001782:Blood Donors; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents